The latest peek at the upcoming movie features Chris Pine's Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto's Spock and Cumberbatch as a character called John Harrison.

The official Paramount caption for the image reads: "(Left to right) Zachary Quinto is Spock, Benedict Cumberbatch is John Harrison and Chris Pine is Kirk in Star Trek Into Darkness from Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions."

There is no major character in the Star Trek canon called John Harrison, leading many fans to speculate that the moniker may be a red herring or a smokescreen to hide his real identity.

A full-length trailer for the film is expected to be released on December 17, following the announcement teaser that recently surfaced.

Star Trek Into Darkness, which is due for release on May 17, 2013, is directed by JJ Abrams and written by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof.

John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban and Anton Yelchin reprise their roles from the 2009 movie in the sequel. Alice Eve and Peter Weller have joined alongside Cumberbatch.

Cumberbatch has said of his role: "He is very ruthless… He is not a clearly good or evil character. He is a villain but the action he takes has intent and reason."